Matthew

3675 Articles

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he
travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 120
countries over the last decade. Working both in the aviation industry
and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in the New York
Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, BBC, Fox News,
CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Al Jazeera, Toronto Star, and on NPR. Studying
international relations, American government, and later obtaining a
law degree, Matthew has a plethora of knowledge outside the travel
industry that leads to a unique writing perspective. He has served in
the United States Air Force, on Capitol Hill, and in the White House.
His Live and Let's Fly blog shares the latest news in the airline
industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs and promotions, and
detailed reports of his worldwide travel. His writings on
penandpassport.com offer more general musings on life from the eyes of a frequent traveler. He also founded awardexpert.com, a
highly-personalized consulting service that aids clients in the
effective use of their credit card points and frequent flyer miles.
Clients range from retirees seeking to carefully use their nest egg of
points to multinational corporations entrusting Matthew with the
direction and coordination of company travel.

A trip is on the horizon…I’m anticipating a trip to Europe coming up, perhaps as early tomorrow. But for now, another week in LA. I didn’t even spend this many consecutive days on the ground when my son was...

It was a dark and stormy night in Sydney. We had checked in late to the Park Hyatt Sydney after our train ride from Canberra and were cold. Small problem. Our heater in the room didn’t work. And the...

United chartered a private jet to reunite a German Shepard with his owners…after sending the dog to Japan instead of Kansas. Imagine this. You’re moving from Oregon to Kansas. After weighing flying versus driving, you book travel on United...

Dear Hyatt, the U.S. doesn’t need another Courtyard by Marriott chain. Please. Hyatt is piloting a program at a handful of Hyatt Place properties that eliminates free breakfast, long a cornerstone of this brand. Based on customer feedback, Hyatt...

My uncle and I had a disagreement: I wanted to fly, he wanted to take a train. Spoiler alert: we took the train. This review covers my train trip from Canberra to Sydney. It wasn’t that I was opposed...

United Airlines’ President Scott Kirby shocked investors by proclaiming United would increase domestic capacity by up to 6% this year and next. Now he’s shocked pilots by arguing this is “entirely dependent” on their authorization of more outsourced regional jets....

It’s a great time to be a pilot or pilot-in-training. In fact, Boeing predicts the U.S. alone will need 117,000 new pilots by 2036. The days of furloughing pilots are over. Carriers are hiring at levels unseens since 9/11 and demand...

As I mentioned on Wednesday, there is technically no rule or law prohibiting the placement of pets in overhead bins. That may be a spirit/letter of the law issue, but at least two U.S. Senators want to fix that....

Admittedly, this hotel reminded me more of a retirement home than a Park Hyatt property. But I still liked it a lot. Have you ever been in a retirement home that has a sort of musty/old smell? That’s this...

I’ve received many questions asking whether I prefer Qatar Airways First Class or fancy new Qsuite Business Class. Here’s a comparison of the two products. Qatar Airways still offers first class aboard its A380-800 aircraft. Thus far, Qsuite Business...

Could it really be that the FA was just doing her job and bears no responsibility for the death of a dog? Reader Anthony did not agree with the arguments I made for why the United Airlines’ flight attendant who...

A sad story from Iran, where a private jet carrying a Turkish socialite and her closest friends slammed into a mountain, killing everyone onboard. Mina Basaran, the 28-year-old Daughter of Turkish billionaire Huseyin Basaran, was in Dubai to celebrate...